PRAGUE – Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) face a higher risk of heart disease even if they are of normal weight, according to the largest study to date on the condition, presented at the 28th European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague.

Researchers from Denmark, Finland, and Sweden tracked 127,517 women with PCOS and compared them with 587,810 women without the condition, aged 15 to 50, over an average of 10 years.

The study found women with PCOS had a 32% higher risk of developing heart disease. Among those of normal weight or without type 2 diabetes, the risk rose to 40%.

Country-specific data showed increased risks of 37.7% in Denmark, 48.6% in Finland, and 41.7% in Sweden.

“Women of normal weight with PCOS are more likely to have higher blood pressure than women of normal weight without PCOS — a well-established independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” said Professor Dorte Glintborg of the University of Southern Denmark and Odense University Hospital, who led the study.

She added that the findings suggest the biology of PCOS, including elevated testosterone levels, may affect the cardiovascular system independently of weight and diabetes.

The study, published in the European Journal of Endocrinology, is the first to combine nationwide cohorts across three Nordic countries to assess long-term cardiovascular risk in women with PCOS.